Sara Ficarelli Tour Guide in Belgium

This is art in its sweetest expression, when you give tour to foodies in Bruges 😋

Huis de Vijf Werelddelen (The Five Continents House), a jewel of the Art Nouveau style built by the architect Frans Smet-Verhas at the beginning of the 20th century.

📍Antwerp, Belgium

Giving a tour of Brussels to a landscape architect and being taught on how to take better photos with my phone. I feel like Gen Z now and ready for great vertical pictures.

BTW the Royal Palace is the subject.

On the next few days I'm going to be at TTG Travel Experience together with the other members of Guide Italiane in Belgio.
A series of B2B meetings, gatherings and fun activities awaits me.

If you're there too, drop me a message!

⚠️Anche quest'anno ci troverete al a Rimini!

✉️ Scriveteci via [email protected] per conoscerci di persona! 🤝

🥳 I'm happy to guide the exhibition "Dessine-moi un train", held by until the 11th of May 2025.

The works of 13 great artists are displayed through the permanent collection, creating a dialogue with the existing pieces of the museum.

I love drawings so I'm very happy to show those masterpieces to the visitors. I started to guide it yesterday, during an evening tour.

🖼 In the picture a creation by Li Kunwu and François Schuiten.

Bye bye summer!☀️

One last picture of this summer season: my assistant Manolo in Bruges.🧸 He's waiting for a group under the sun, wearing a sombrero.

On the rooftop of the
Admiring Bruges with a French group❤️

Nothing can stop tour guides!💪

We finally had nice sunny days in Belgium!

☀️ During one week around Belgium, my Italian group was more than happy to visit Bruges under this sunlight!

📍Bruges, Belgium

A well-known pitoresque little alley in the city center of Antwerp, in which you can also find a few restaurants.

📍Antwerp, 🇧🇪

Surprise!

The Tower of the Town Hall of Brussels seen from rue Chair et Pain.

The cityscape of Brussels seen from a different angle.

Last week, with a small Belgian group, we admired the view from the rooftop of the Brucity Administrative Centre.

This week I had the pleasure of presenting a lecture on Margaret of Parma and Piacenza, governor of The Netherlands from 1559 to 1567. A great historical character who lived between Italy and Flanders.

The lecture was given in Italian to a Flemish association in Kortrijk.
We had so much fun discovering interesting details of her private and political life, and some gossip to....

Oltre alle visite guidate, i membri di Guide Italiane in Belgio possono presentare conferenze su diversi temi.

🗣Questa settimana Sara ha tenuto in Italiano una conferenza su Margherita di Parma e Piacenza per un'associazione della città di Kortrijk.

🔍Un personaggio storico affascinante, tra i più influenti del '500 europeo e italiano, Margherita è stata un vero train d'union tra le Fiandre e l'Italia.

🇧🇪🇮🇹Un'ottima occasione per mettere in risalto i legami storici tra i nostri due paesi!

Two women back-to-back
Mariela Ajras et Milu Correch,
2015,
Pl. Raymond Lemaire, Louvain-la-Neuve.

This mural is one of the works decorating the place Raymond Lemaire and it was created by two artists from Argentina, Mariela Ajras et Milu Correch (2015). Instead of spray, they chose paint to create these two giant women who are standing back-to-back against one another.

This work was created on the occasion of the Kosmopolite Art Tour 2015.

🇧🇪

Stolen wallets and smartphones are one of my worst nightmares.

That is unfortunately part of my job as a tour guide but I always try to avoid it in advance by insisting on 7 gold tips against pickpockets. I could give you a longer list but I resumed the most important ones.

⚠️ Please don’t forget these tips when visiting Belgium!

1) Backpacks and bags should be carried in front of you in crowded sites, especially if many people are taking pictures around you.

2) Be sure no one is watching while you are typing your PIN. Learn it by heart: don't write it down on the phone or a paper! Try to use different pins for smartphones, bank cards, and...lockers (in museums or train stations).

3) Random people who want to shake your hand or hug you, people asking for directions or talking to you out of nowhere... all situations my tourists have experienced and in which they have been distracted and ... "pickpocketed". Be always polite to everyone but don't lose your guard.

4) The procedure for stolen documents can be annoying. Store your ID and passport in a safe place and, if you can, keep them separated from your money.

5) Don't leave your bag unattended, even though you feel "safe", for example at your hotel while having breakfast! If you are being checked by security at museums or important sites, be careful while taking off your valuables through the metal detector.

6) I suggest you use bags with hidden interior pockets that can be zipped. Don't make it easy for pickpockets and please don't keep your valuables in your pockets!

7) Holding your phone while walking can be dangerous for many reasons but I also saw people being robbed of their phone while walking in the street.

Well noted? Now you’re “pickepocketsproof”!💪

Untitled 12 (Bodybuilders)
David Altmejd,
2015,
Royal Fine Arts Museum of Belgium.

You’ll find this artwork in the main hall of the Fine Arts Museums of Belgium.
The artist worked on the concept of “bodybuilder”.
💪He starts his creation with a slab of plaster and the character depicted in it is building “himself” thanks to all those hands which are sculpting themselves.
By using this raw material and showing its texture and imperfections, Altmejd gives a strong impression of a person creating his destiny through his memories and background.
In the end, the subject of the artwork has become its own creator.😲

Happy International Tourist Guide Day!
Every year, on the 21st of February, we celebrate our job!
💪Cheers to all my fellow colleagues!

Good morning everyone,
I hope your weekend was great! 🎉

Mine was definitely good. I gave guided tours in Bruges and Brussels. I also led a group of English-speaking visitors inside the tower of the City Hall of Brussels.
On the way to the tower we stopped on the balcony to admire the beautiful view over the Grand-Place. Astonishing!😲